Season: AllUse: General hymn for Mass, processions, or private prayer.

The Hail Mary, or the Angelic Salutation, is derived from the Gospel of Luke (1:28 and 1:42-43). It begins by echoing the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation, transitioning into the greeting of Mary's kinswoman Elizabeth at the Visitation.

The second half of the prayer continues Elizabeth's words ("mother of my Lord") but perhaps its conclusion is closer to John 19:27 - "[Jesus] said to the disciple, 'Behold, thy mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his home." Proclaiming her as our mother, we ask her intercession before God for both our immediate and eternal needs.